Sunset At Cannon Beach

The opportunity to capture a sunset at Cannon Beach is more than likely on every photographers bucket list. Certainly was on mine…

Thia evening would be my last chance on this trip to capture the golden hour at Cannon Beach. The conditions did not seem optimum for a killer sunset as there was, as quite often is, a thick fog bank on the horizon just offshore to the west. And no real high clouds to catch the color of the setting sun. Nevertheless, this was the moment I had been given, and I was damned sure not going to pass it up!

We made our way through old town Cannon Beach to the same beach access we had explored the morning before. We hiked down the steep path to the beach below and I immediately began to capture images of the sea stacks and surging surf as the gulls swirled above.

I got in “The Zone” and worked various compositions as the sun set behind the fog bank. Using a 6-stop neutral density filter, I was able to slow the shutter speed down, and capture the movement of the water to create an ethereal mood to the images. I stayed out, sometimes ankle deep in the oncoming tide, and photographed until there was virtually no light left to shoot…

I hope you enjoy the artistic liberties I have taken in the post processing of these images, as they convey the mood I felt while photographing the spectacle. It is truly a magical place under any circumstances…